“You will have to step into that cage with me sooner or later. Enjoy it while you can, because it’s coming to an end,” said Jean Silva when undefeated featherweight contender Movsar Evloev refused to clash against the Brazilian last year. ‘Lord’ has been climbing up the featherweight ladder with his precision striking, and his last fight was nothing but a wake-up call for the other contenders, as he knocked out his opponent in the very first round. Preparing to face Bryce Mitchell next, the Brazilian Fighting Nerd has something to say about Evloev.

After Ilia Topuria vacated his featherweight title, UFC CEO Dana White booked a clash between Alexander Volkanovski and Diego Lopes at UFC 314 to claim the vacant title. However, it should be noted that Evloev holds a victory over Lopes and remains undefeated in the promotion. In a perfect world, he would have already fought for the title, but the reality is quite different.

Looking at Evloev’s condition, Jean Silva took to his X handle to blast the Russian, “Brother, you talk so much, but where are your fights? While you’re sitting around, a guy you already beat is about to fight for the title. Staying undefeated without action is easy. You’re just another one who talks too much and does too little.”

The Dagestani fighter currently holds the #4 spot in the featherweight division, and his recent victory over former bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling solidified his status as a contender. However, despite this, Dana White has yet to consider him a title challenger. Is it part of the treatment that the UFC has seemingly been giving to Russian/grappling-heavy fighters?

If you think back to last year, Magomed Ankalaev was passed on for a title shot despite being the clear #1 contender. Yes, he’s fighting Alex Pereira this weekend, but ideally, that should have happened last year. Evloev is one such fighter who suffocates opponents with his grappling. Undefeated with a double-digit win streak (19-0), nine of them in the UFC, he still lost out the title shot to the much more active and exciting Diego Lopes.

The Brazilian was on Dana White’s radar in a big way for the way he fights, and for seizing every opportunity that came his way. So Jean Silva’s comment, “You’re just another one who talks too much and does too little.” does not seem too far off the mark. Evloev has 9 UFC fights from 2019. In comparison, Lopes has 6 (5-1) between 2023 and 2024. Silva has 4 fights (all wins) after debuting in the UFC in January 2024.

Unlike, Evloev, Silva is climbing the featherweight ladder by knocking out his opponents and if he gets past Mitchell at UFC 314, he would certainly breach the top 15 of the division. Interestingly, Evloev made a pact with himself that he would not consume any sugar until he got the championship belt himself and it appears that his wish to fight for the 145 lbs gold will be fulfilled if Alexander Volkanovski wins the belt at UFC 314.

Alexander Volkanovski promises to offer a chance to Movsar Evloev if he wins

After Dana White announced the title fight, Alexander Volkanovski called out to Deigo Lopes warning him that he would destroy his title aspirations. However, ‘The Great’ should know the fact that Lopes is coming off of a five-fight winning streak while on the other hand, he is riding a two-fight losing streak. Regardless, in his latest confession, Volkanovski has a piece of good news for Movsar Evloev as he claimed that if he wins the title then he will defend it against the undefeated Dagestani.

While having a conversation with Ariel Helwani, Alexander Volkanovski confessed that he will give Evloev a chance at the title, “I’m telling you that I’m gonna go out there and I’m gonna win the belt and I’ll call out (Movsar Evloev) so he can probably wait if he wants to. I’m winning that title and I’ll fight him three months later, tell me the date that we can do it and I’ll call the shots that night… I think Movsar is definitely deserving.”

After the confession, Movsar Evloev breathed a sigh of relief as he took to his X handle to respond to Volkanovski, even showing support for ‘The Great’ in his upcoming fight against Lopes. He wrote, “@alexvolkanovski good luck with your next fight. I know you’re gonna beat this guy—he’s my chicken. With a career record of 19 victories and 0 losses, Evloev is arguably one of the best featherweight fighters in the world but what is stopping him from getting the title shot is the fact that he has won most of his victories by way of decision.

An interesting fact is that Evloev has won every fight but one in the UFC by unanimous decision. Will the Russian finally get a chance to fight for the title or will Jean Silva test his mettle against him? State your thoughts in the comments below.